Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS II USM (covers all formats, 77mm filters, 4 feet/1.2m close-focus, 52.4 oz./1,485g without collar, about $2,200.) enlarge. I got this one
at Adorama. I'd also get it at Amazon.

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The Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM is astonishing. It really is the sharpest zoom I've ever tested. Heck, after shooting mostly LEICA for the past couple of years, I forgot that my 5D Mark II could make images this sharp.

Not only is the 70-200/2.8 IS II sharp, it also has less distortion than any other 70-200mm zoom.

Not only is it sharper and has less distortion than any other tele zoom, it focuses almost instantly. It's scary: silently and without vibration, things magically just pop into focus.

As we expect, just grab the manual focus ring at any time for instant manual focus override.

No wonder this lens is in every pro's bag. For people, weddings, portraits, nature, landscape, and well, anything for which you need the best tele zoom you can get, this is the lens if you're a full-time pro. Long zooms are the lenses on which each maker stakes it reputation, and they therefore are the very best each maker can do. Canon has spared no expense in making this the best lens they can, and it shows.

For more casual use, the Canon 70-200mm f/4 IS costs and weighs a lot less, but if you're counting every pixel or need even faster autofocus, this new lens really does live up to its price. It's astounding; it's the real deal.

Falloff is visible at f/2.8 at the long end, and gone by f/4. It's not visible at the short end.

My Canon 5D Mark II (as of firmware 2.0.4) doesn't have the data to correct this automatically in its Peripheral Illumination Correction menu option. If you go find the data and load it into your camera (I'm too lazy), it should correct for this automatically.

I've greatly exaggerated this by shooting a flat gray target and presenting it against a gray background.

The Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS II is quite different from Canon's usual plastic lenses in the under-$2,000 bin. This beast feels more like it comes from Canon's professional TV camera lens division: it's almost all metal and built like a tank.

Canon claims good dust and rain sealing, and I believe them. Sports pros shoot this out in the rain all the time, although you won't find me out there!

With its mostly rounded 8-bladed diaphragm, this Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II shouldn't make much in the way of sunstars at most apertures. At the smallest apertures, expect boring Canon-standard 8-pointed sunstars on brilliant points of light.

This 70-200mm is the choice of the pros because of its superior mechanics, instant autofocus, fast f/2.8 speed and of course ultra sharpness at every setting.

Versus the 70-200/4 IS

It's so sharp that it's sharper at f/2.8 than the 70-200/4 IS is at f/4.

The 70-200/4 IS is popular with lazy people like me who don't want to carry this huge f/2.8 beast, but for the people willing to carry it, it's sharper, tougher, has less distortion and is faster to focus than the 70-200/4 IS.

Versus the previous 70-200/2.8L IS

This new II lens focuses more closely, along with 10 years of other optical innovations. If you already own the previous lens, nothing is forcing you to own the best, but you should.

The "2.5m ~ ∞" position prevents the lens from focusing any closer than 2.5 meters (8 feet). You might use this if you're shooting action at a distance and the lens is wasting time trying to focus this close and back looking for things.

AF - MF Switch

Leave this in AF. Just grab the focus ring at any time for instant manual-focus override.

Only set it to MF if you want it to be locked into manual focus.

Image Stabilizer

Leave this on. It eliminates camera shake for sharper pictures. It replaces a tripod, except indoors or at night.

The Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II is a favorite lens of thousands of professional photographers because of its fabulous optics, instant autofocus and tough mechanics.

It's heavy and expensive. Its performance and durability are what earn it a spot in most pro's bags. There is no better zoom for your Canon.

Personally, as an outdoor nature and landscape shooter, I'm too lazy to want to haul this beast around the woods with me. I own the 70-200mm f/4 IS for when I want a zoom, and use the EF 100mm f/2 for when I can forgo a zoom and want fantastic optics in an even smaller package.

This 70-200/2.8 II is for very serious photographers and full-time pros who will be spending more time shooting with this lens than carrying it around their necks.

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